GASabresIUFAN

I had hoped that they would turn this franchise around to give him one more night in the booth when it really counted. I honor of RJ, Adams, Grantato, and Pegula, do everything in your power to make this coming season a great one in honor of the greatest play-by-play guy in hockey history.

😞 😞

Interesting question. I think we retain his rights as long as we have extended him a contract offer, but honestly, I'm not sure. I did find this article. https://www.nhl.com/flyers/news/meltzers-411-drafting-rights--philadelphia-flyers/c-307757112

Ok. That will make @dudacek happy as well. 😉 Two questions: When (if?) do you see him coming to NA? What’s his offensive ceiling? He has 2 years left on his KHL contract and Fairburn projects him as a 3rd or 4th line player in the NHL. I think that’s a lower ceiling then I’d give Neuchev or Wahlberg. That is not to say that we don’t need smart hardworking edgy forwards, we do, but I think the lower ceiling and uncertainty of his arrival in NA limit him in most rankings (including mine). All that said, After our top 5 players plus Johnson and Novikov, I think people can make a case for the following forwards in any order - Neuchev, Poltapov, Wahlberg, Nadeau and Kisakov. I also like Kozak and can see him coming on this season with a bigger role for the Amerks. I do however think Rosen, because of his skating and shot make him a better prospect than Poltapov. Also he is here and if he continues to progress, he could be competing for an NHL roster spot as early as 2024-25.

A couple of things from the Athletic https://theathletic.com/4782966/2023/08/17/sabres-prospects-isak-rosen-nikita-novikov/ Fairburns Prospects 6-10 6. Rosen - Skating and Shot NHL level. Still needs to add strength 7. Novikov - Smooth skater and puck handler for a player 6'4" 8. Johnson - One of the best skaters at D camp the last 2 years. 9. Poltapov - plays a different style than other Sabres forward prospects. Still years from the NHL 10. Wahlberg - "Talented, fast, very skilled around the net. A hard player." Has size as well at 6'3". https://theathletic.com/4775018/2023/08/17/nhl-prospects-jan-mysak-tyler-kleven/ Players Wheeler over or under-ranked their draft year. Krebs made the list as an over-rated player. I agree with this assessment.

2006-2009

Because he was a Amerks goalie who put up UPL type numbers in the A and therefore never earned a call up.

How do we define “star”? Is it someone in the running for a major award like TNT and Dahlin were last year? Is it a perennial 30 + goal scorer like Skinner? Is it a multi time all-star game participant? Or is it more subjective? Are Tuch and Cozens now “stars” ? For me the guys who compete annually for the major awards are the superstars of the NHL, Makar, McKinnon, Matthews, McDavid, etc…. For forwards it seems to me that pt a game players and guys you can pencil in annually for 30+ goals are stars. Defense and goaltending are more subjective. To answer the question, Levi, Power and Benson have the highest ceilings that could put them in “star” category. I can see Levi having a Saros type upside. Power is unique because of his size and skill level. I can see him as a 50-60 pts D in his prime who plays both ways at an elite level eating 25 minutes a night. Benson should be one a pt a game player in the NHL.

I see no reason why Kulich can't play 3rd line center. Also, Mitts and Krebs are still in the picture, and if Krebs breaks out as the 3rd line center this year, the road to the NHL gets even harder for Östlund. Go back and look at the ROR deal. Stl balked at Thomas and Kyrou and Jbot settled on Thompson. This happens all the time. If Hellebuyck was more than a rental the price would go up, but he is only a rental at this stage. Asking KA for any of the top 3 is a non-starter just as it was for Chychrun. It's also not like Östlund is garbage. He is the 5th best prospect in arguably the deepest prospect pool in the NHL. He is a mid 1st rd pick and had a fine year in Sweden. On most teams, he'd be their 1st or 2nd best prospect.

I said in my post he is a tradeable asset in the future. That said, we all know that many of the forward stockpiled in our pipeline won't make the NHL and of those that make the NHL, some won't ever suit up for the Sabres. There are plenty of examples just from recent history from Hagel to Compher to Armia to Lemieux. So here is a scenario that could very easily play out a year from now. Clifton doesn't work playing 20 minutes a night and Joki struggles in that role again. R Johnson looks NHL ready, but also isn't a 2nd pairing fit. What is KA to do at that point? Like Stl going after ROR, KA is going to make to move a prime asset to fill the top 4 D hole in his roster. What prospects are you making available in trade? Stl protected Thomas and Kyrou, but agreed to move Thompson. So now you are in KA's shoes, which prospect are you making available? The answers as of today are Östlund and Rosen, with Benson, Savoie, and Kulich off the table. Let's even move the timetable up a year. What if Wpg comes to KA and says we'll take a good prospect, UPL, and a 2nd for Hellebuyck? Would you make the deal with Östlund? I would.

https://theathletic.com/4778368/2023/08/16/buffalo-sabres-top-prospects-rankings/ Fairburn’s top 5 Sabres prospects. I think he makes a pretty solid case for his rankings, but his top 5 and everyone else is the same, just the order is a little different. 1. Benson - Highest upside - Sabres scouts said he was the best player on the ice in the games they scouted. 2. Levi 3. Kulich - projects with similar scoring ability as VO, but with a better all around game 4. Savoie - thinks his tenacity will make him a good Pker. 5. Östlund - more patient development to come. There has been some discussion above where Östlund fits long-term. With the top 2 center jobs locked down, and Kulich, Quinn, JJP, Savoie and Benson ahead of him on the depth chart, it’s a legit question. I do think Benson’s passing skills place him ahead of Östlund as the best playmaker in the system making Östlund a tradable asset in the future.

https://theathletic.com/4777478/2023/08/16/nhl-atlantic-division-red-wings-senators-canadiens-sabres/ Fairburn’s projected lineup Skinner TnT Tuch JJP Cozens Mitts Greenway Krebs VO Z Jost KO Dahlin Samuelsson Power Clifton Johnson Joki Levi UPL (this looks familiar) 😉 Fairburn is predicting a trade of some D.

https://buffalonews.com/sports/sabres/how-the-sabres-might-solve-their-surplus-on-defense-before-the-season-begins/article_c99855f6-3789-11ee-8dad-c37e826a634f.html After reading this article, I’m thinking it may be time to move on from all of Bryson, Bush, Joki and Stillman.

Where is this hypothetical player from? If American and from Minn - Colorado, Minn, Det, NSH and Dallas If American and Mass - Colorado, Bos, TB, NSH and Pit if American and from Mich/Wis - Colorado, Det, Minn, NSH & Dallas if American and from NY (or other Eastern states besides Mass) - TB, NSH, Bos, Pit and Wash If Western Canadian - LV, Colorado, Sea, Dallas and Chicago If Eastern Canadian - NSH, TB, Boston, Pit and Det If European - TB, Det, LV, Colorado and Dallas If Russian - TB, Det, Wash, Dallas and Colorado

Honestly where would you want to play? 1. Eliminate all Canadian teams - high taxes and either small markets or insane pressure cookers. Add crappy weather 2. Eliminate all California, NY and NJ teams - high taxes, band wagon markets (see all California teams), a small mkt (Buffalo and NYI) or bad places to play (NYC and NJ). 3. Eliminate all remaining poorly managed franchises like CBJ, AZ, Chicago and Philly or apathetic fanbases like Fla. 4. I’d also eliminate Sea because what a depressing place to live. So who’s left? LV, Minn, Stl, Det, Bos, Nash, Car, TB, Pitt, Wash, Colo, and Dallas.

Wpg, AZ, and any California teams

The Sabres actually have 10 D and 4 goalies under contract (plus 14 forwards with Rousek). That’s 28 players for 23 jobs (27 once Quinn goes to IR). Somebody is getting waived or traded. Levi, JJP, Rousek and Power are the only relevant waiver exempt players. At this point 7 D are a lock (Dahlin, Power, Mule, Johnson, Clifton, Lyubushkin and Joki). That leaves Stillman (1.1 mill), Bryson (1.85) and Clague (.775) fighting for one spot assuming the Sabres keep 8 D. They won’t keep 9 unless someone gets hurt. The 4 goalies are Levi, UPL, Comrie and Tokarski. I’ve argued before Tokar is the best of the non-Levi goalies (but that’s not saying much). Houser and Cooley are the other organization goalies. I think the plan is Levi and UPL in Buffalo. Comrie and Tokarski in the A and Cooley and Houser in the ECHL. This plan allows the Sabres to keep 8 D and a 13th forward. Comrie and Tokarski would have to clear waivers, but Comrie’s 1.85 mill salary should keep him from being claimed.

4 weeks and counting.

I doubt they’ll keep both Comrie and UPL if Levi has a solid or better camp. The plan is Levi is the starter and then let the chips fall where they may for the backup. Loser of the camp battle for the backup job gets waived or traded. They brought back Houser and more importantly Tokarski as insurance. If Levi struggles in camp, management could send him down and allow Comrie and UPL to start the season. This is admittedly a very unlikely scenario. Levi would have to be awful for this to happen and I sincerely doubt Levi would let it happen. The more I think about it, and after looking at the forward depth in Rochester, I think Rousek is likely to make the Sabres out of camp.

You don't think they'll carry 13 forwards?

I wrote in the lineup thread that I didn't think Rousek would make the team out of camp, but if Buffalo moves on from the 3 headed goalie monster, I now see a slot for him as the 13th forward. I don't think he has anything left to prove in the AHL and at 24 it's time to transition to the NHL. I also don't think he's needed in Rochester any longer. They have vets Mersch, Jobst, Warren, and Richards, plus young vets like Biro, Murray, and Weissbach to go with a solid group of prospects in Kulich, Rosen, Neuchev, Kisakov, Novak, Cedarqvist, and Nadeau, That's 14 quality forwards without Rousek. Rousek proved he could play in the NHL even in a tiny sample size with 2 pts in 2 games and never looked out of place. The Sabres also signed him to a multi-year deal, so it's clear that management has some faith in him. This is Dobber's summary of Rousek. https://dobberprospects.com/player/lukas-rousek/ We know he has decent hands from his time in Rochester. He also seems like a leader by example. All effort all the time. He sounds like an ideal 3/4th player. He isn't the biggest guy (5'11"), but he doesn't play small. I honestly see him as KO's replacement after this season and an injury fill-in up and down the lineup this season. Thoughts?

Yes. I think the top 6 in Buffalo is set and I'd rather Kulich play big minutes in all situations than in a depth role in Buffalo. Not the only one, but it's a shrinking minority.

The opening night roster is already signed and here unless an injury occurs in camp. Skinner TnT Tuch JJP Cozens Mitts VO Krebs Greenway Z Jost KO Dahlin Mule Power Clifton Johnson Jokiharju (Stillman Lyubushkin) Levi UPL waived - Bryson, Clague and Comrie. first callups - Rousek, Biro and Kulich Lyubushkin becomes a starter if there is a camp injury on D, Rousek if a forward goes down and Comrie if a goalie gets hurt. Benson and Savoie return to Jrs to get stronger. R. Johnson and Kulich have great camps and are the last cuts.

Those you can play. Those who can’t teach. PS: DG’s playing career ended with a two year stint in the ECHL. He played 4 years at Wisconsin and won a National Championship there.

Except FL, all those teams were out West. Florida, despite mediocre goaltending, still had a team .896 to our .890 and allowed 27 fewer goals than the Sabres last season. The Western teams gave up 256, 257 and 260 GA. We gave up 300. I don't think dropping it to 280 GA will be good enough. The goal needs to be dropping it to 260 and I don't think we are there with the goalies we have.